The 17.06 pays tribute to MING’s first watch but updated with everything they learned along the way

When MING unveiled their very first watch a couple of years ago, they started with the 17.01, a simple time-only, two-hand watch. With only 300 units of the 17.01 produced (150 for the blue dial, 150 for the anthracite dial), by the time the MING name made their way to collectors around the world, these early pieces were already sold out. Since then, they have released a host of other watches including the 17.03 watch with a GMT function and a gorgeous 19.03 worldtimer among others. However, the demand for another simple two-hander never really went away and so just recently MING unveiled the 17.06 – a homage of sorts to the original 17.01 offering everything that people loved about the original but with a more refined manufacturing process thanks to their years of experience since.

The 17.06 brings back the simplicity of a time-only function but this time within a 38mm case of 316L stainless steel, as opposed to the grade 5 titanium of the 17.01. The curved lugs, one of the defining traits of MING has been tweaked slightly to improve aesthetics and wearing comfort but the double lug holes for both straight or curved spring bars have been retained.

The most obvious difference with the 17.06 comes in the form of the colour palette offering a warm copper dial and a polished case on one reference while the other comes in a very modern all-black ‘monolith’ construction. The dial of the Monolith is offered in matte black while the case comes in an anthracite DLC that has been bead blasted to match the texture of the dial. Both watches still come with a guilloche-like pattern in the centre.

Through their years of experience, MING has also streamlined some of the design elements within the 17.06. For instance, the bezel is now held by screws from within the case to facilitate assembly and servicing. And because of this, they no longer need a spacer ring and thus the top of the canon pinion is only 0.30mm away from the crystal underside.

According to MING, the 17.06 is a much higher grade watch at a small increment in price. The case finishing, hands and dial are superior compared to the 17.03 and the watch is powered by a self-winding ETA 2824-2 modified for two crown positions and regulated in 5 positions. Assembly of the 17.06 is now done performed by La Division du Temps, a subsidiary of Manufacture Schwarz Etienne (which designed the movement for their 19-series watches) while the supplied strap is handmade by Jean Rousseau in Paris, and the travel pouch is redesigned and handsewn by Koji Sato.

With such an amazing value proposition, it’s no wonder that the MING 17.06 has also been shortlisted for a GPHG award in the Challenge category (watches with a retail price under CHF 4,000).

Both the copper and monolith references of the MING 17.06 will be available for pre-order starting September 19 at 1 pm GMT and will cost CHF1,250 and CHF1,500 respectively. Prices include worldwide courier and deliveries begin end-October 2019.

Case: 316L stainless steel
Case size: 38mm
Crystal: Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both sides
Thickness: 10mm
lug-to-lug: 43.9mm
Movement: ETA 2824-2 Top grade modified for MING
Water Resistance: 100m
Price: CHF1,250 for the copper dial, CHF1,500 for ‘Monolith’